The
first ever studio recording of Die Walküre also has some
claims to be the best – at least as far as the conducting is
concerned. At the same time there is no unequivocal opinion
even here but most commentators agree that there is an epic
breadth, overall sweep and deep commitment to this performance
that always makes an impression, whatever objections there can
be to details. The 1954 mono sound can’t stand comparison with
later efforts in stereo. However, recorded in the marvellous
acoustics of the Musikvereinsaal and with the Vienna Philharmonic
on their toes for the beloved maestro in what turned out to
be his last recording, much of the greatness of the performance
still comes over to the listener. There is also enough width
in tonal and dynamic scope to be embraced by the sound and the
drama. From time to time I have heard excerpts from various
versions of this recording, both on LP and CD; I have never
actually owned a complete set. Even though Mark Obert-Thorn
has worked with finished LP pressings rather than master-tapes
he has secured sound that is well up to the best possible from
this period. Having chosen to issue the set on three discs the
long second act has had to be split over all three discs but
I don’t believe many Wagnerians will grumble about that.

As
always with Furtwängler in the pit, or as here on the rostrum,
it is the orchestra that comes to the fore – as it should. Once,
after a performance of Die Walküre with admittedly excellent
singers, my wife complained that the singing tended to overshadow
the orchestra. No such risk here, but neither are the soloists
swamped, not even in the most powerful moments. As for the conducting
there are so many places, apart from the overall grandessa,
to savour. Take the wild and stormy prelude to the first act:
jagged, angular even, lumbering along at a fairly measured tempo
but still more brutish and frightening than any other version,
however streamlined and well played. There is a kind of professional
primitiveness that goes well with the ancient setting. Take
on the other hand the cello solo, introducing for the first
time the love theme, just before Siegmund’s Kühlende Labung
gab mir der Quell (halfway through CD1 tr. 2), so magically
beautiful and intense. Time stands still! And time and again
he is so considerate to the soloists, encouraging them to sing
softly and prolong a phrase for stronger expression – Siegmund’s
Den Vater fand ich nicht (CD1 near the end of tr. 5)
soft and ritardando; a magical moment. Just a couple of other
instances: the act 2 prelude (CD1 tr. 13) with its braying trumpets
and its rhythmical incisiveness. There is no elegance, only
a barren truthfulness; the act 3 transition from the “public”
scene two with all the Valkyries, thunder and storm gradually
calming down to the nocturnal atmosphere where Brünnhilde’s
and Wotan’s “private” scene takes place (CD3 tr. 8 – 9). Finally,
note the flickering flames just before the end, when Wotan has
evoked Loge and the stage is transformed into a sea of fire.
Later recordings have reproduced this with greater dynamics
and more pinpoint detail, but turn up the volume a notch above
your usual listening level and you have the full score audible.

As
a library recording this is still a necessary purchase for Furtwängler’s
handling of the orchestra. When it comes to the soloists some
objections have to be raised, more concerning the actual sounds
in some departments than the singers’ commitment, which can
hardly be questioned. To begin with the group of eight Valkyries
is an uncommonly homogenous group; not a single screamer, which
is a rarity. All of them were important singers in their day
and at least Erika Köth and possibly Hertha Töpper should be
names even to younger readers. Margarete Klose, the veteran
in the cast, is strong and authoritative as Fricka, her long
solo So ist es denn aus mit den ewigen Göttern (CD2 tr.
2) spat out with venomous anger. Ludwig Suthaus has the required
power and stamina for Siegmund but also sings very sensitively,
especially in the scene with Sieglinde (CD3 tr. 1) where he
shows much care over phrasing. Elsewhere he is reliable and
steady but a little dry-voiced. He grows, though, to tragic-
dramatic heights in the long Todesverkündigung scene (CD2 tr.
13 & 14). His Sieglinde is the young Leonie Rysanek, who
had a very long career, spanning around 45 years. Here, though,
for much of the time she is uncharacteristically woolly of tone,
sometimes unsteady and rarely displaying the gleaming lirico-spinto
sound that made her such a sought after artist for many years.
She was Sieglinde in Bayreuth more than ten years later and
can be heard to much greater advantage on the live-recorded
Philips set, conducted by Karl Böhm and with Birgit Nilsson
and James King among the soloists. She is better in act 2, but
in act 3 she is back to the occluded and old-sounding tone from
act 1. For her last effort, O hehrstes Wunder, (ca 3
minutes into CD3 tr. 6) she luckily gathers momentum and is
jubilant and glorious.

Brünnhilde
is sung by Martha Mödl, who began her career as a contralto
in the early 1940s and returned to that Fach in latter
years. She died in December 2001, aged 89, and in the beginning
of that year she was still appearing on stages in Germany. She
has always been considered one of the great singing actresses
– like Leonie Rysanek – and the lower and middle registers of
her voice were always expressive. She sings much of the role
with deep insight in Brünnhilde’s predicament, a lesson to many
aspiring dramatic sopranos. Sadly though, she lacks the security
and the ring to make the uppermost notes tell. Compared to Birgit
Nilsson she is only middlingly successful for pure singing.
Ferdinand Frantz, though hardly as insightful and worldly-wise
as Hans Hotter, nor with the authority and darkness of the latter,
is still an honest and engaging singer. He sings with enviable
steadiness of tone. Though his is a marginally lighter voice
than Hotter’s he can still be sorely strained on high notes
and resort to shouting. Most of the time his is a manly and
reliable Wotan and in the third act he sings with much feeling.
Loge, hör! (CD3 tr. 14) is indeed impressive.

Naxos
do not provide a libretto but there is a synopsis that gives
the gist of the action and Malcolm Walker gives quite lengthy
bios of the singers and the conductor. With almost 45 cue points
it is easy to manoeuvre and find one’s favourite passages but
readers should be warned that in the last scene of act 3 there
are a couple of track indications that don’t tally with what
is actually heard.

All
the singing may not be up to the best on some other sets but
as a total experience this is still one of the really important
recorded Walküres, most of all for Furtwängler’s inspired
and inspirational conducting.

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